FORMULA 3: Shwartzman surges to Race 2 win at Paul Ricard

PREMA Racing continued their early season dominance in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, as Robert Shwartzman produced a flawless performance to rise from seventh on the grid to win Race 2 in Le Castellet, France.

It was the Ferrari Academy driver’s second win of the campaign and a fourth for PREMA, as he finished ahead of Pedro Piquet and Race 1 winner Jehan Daruvala.

The Russian’s imperious drive to first began when Liam Lawson ran wide on lap 3 and allowed him through, but his charge gathered pace a lap later with a double overtake on Bent Viscaal and Piquet. By the ninth lap, he’d already risen to third and frontrunners Alex Peroni and Yuki Tsunoda were in his sight.

He then produced a jaw-dropping move that would prove to define the race, sparking a colossal three-way brawl with an ambitious attempt on both positions. Diving to the right of them, the trio went down the straight side-by-side-by-side until Peroni wavered and ran off-track through the chicane. Despite Tsunoda’s best attempts, the PREMA proved too powerful and the Russian claimed P1.

Shwartzman then proceeded to drive off into the distance, but the racing continued as Daruvala and Piquet followed him past the former leaders and into the podium places. The duo briefly swapped positions, but the Brazilian was able to prevent a PREMA one-two and held onto second, ahead of the Indian.

For full race results and more news, visit the official F3 website.